her pitiful story, "would you consent
to be adopted by the Queen and myself, and be a princess?"

Drusilla hesitated a moment. She thought of her dear old father
and how desolate he would be without her. But then she thought how
terribly distressed he would be at the loss of the gold-horned cow,
and that if he had her back, she would be company for him, even if his
daughter was away, and she finally gave her consent.

The King always had his Lord Chamberlain lead a white palfrey, with
rich housings, by the bridle, in case they came across a suitable
full-grown Princess in any of their journeys; and now he ordered him
to be brought forward, and commanded a page to assist Drusilla to the
saddle.

But she began to weep. "I want to go back to my father, until you have
found the cow, your Majesty," said she.

"You may go and bid your father good-by," replied the King,
peremptorily, "but then you must go immediately to the boarding
school, where all the young ladies of the Court are educated. If you
are going to be a Princess, it is high time you began to prepare. You
will have to learn feather stitching, and rick-rack and Kensington
stitch, and tatting, and point lace, and Japanese patchwork,
and painting on china, and how to play variations on the piano,
and--everything a Princess ought to know."

"But," said Drusilla timidly, "suppose--your Majesty shouldn't--find
the cow"--

"Oh! I shall find the cow fast enough," replied the King carelessly.
"Why, I shall have the whole Kingdom searched. I can't fail to find
her." So the page assisted the milkmaid to the saddle, kneeling
gracefully, and presenting his hand for her to place her foot in, and
they galloped off toward the farmer's cottage.

The old man was greatly astonished to see his daughter come riding
home in such splendid company, and when she explained matters to him,
his distress, at first, knew no bounds. To lose both his dear daughter
and his precious gold-horned cow, at one blow, seemed too much to
bear. But the King promised to provide liberally for him during his
daughter's absence, and spoke very confidently of his being able to
find the cow. He also promised that Drusilla should return to him if
the cow was not found in one year's time, and after a while the old
man was pacified.

Drusilla put her arms around her father's neck and kissed him
tenderly; then the page assisted her gracefully into the saddle, and
she rode, sobbing, away.

After they